Gothic Arches Marie Antoinette

I was happy to see that Gothic Arches was posting challenges again! This week it is Marie Antoinette .. one of my favorite subjects!
 

Yes ladies... Pears Soap will keep your skin supple and as beautiful as the finest ivory! You will look just like the queen of luxuries herself... Marie Antoinette! :))

Counting My Blessings

Today was our local meeting of the Artistic Souls and I feel so truly blessed to be a part of this wonderful group. It was such a lovely relaxed day of visiting with good friends. We had the most delicious lunch in the beautiful garden of our lovely hostess this month. That was followed by several hours of creative fun. If you have read any of my previous posts then you know we have an ongoing challenge. We all bring a stamp, each taking a turn with each others stamp until each person has had a chance to create swap cards with each stamp. Recently we decided to do ATC's instead of cards and I am just thrilled with this change as I have a chance to grow my little ATC collection.

It was my turn with Carolyn's purse stamp from PSX. I decided to make it look like a Victorian mail order sample card. I used graphic's from the old Strawbridge department store. I printed the background then stamped the little purse on it. Then I added a little swatch of tapestry. I felt it needed a little envelope so I continued the theme using more Strawbridge graphics and adding a little more stamping. The remaining stamps are from Scroll Works

Play Things ...

  

This week at Mixed Media Monday the theme is Play Things. Having grown up on the central coast of California, I spent hours and hours on the beach playing with sea shells and beautifully polished stones. In fact the first craft I remember doing was making pebble people for every visitor that came. Our family was large and living in a resort area they took turns visiting often. Needless to say I made lots of pebble people. Our house was always full of people, laughter and love. All the stamps are from Scroll Works ... my favorite company :))

Wedded Bliss for Something Blue

This is the last week of the wedding theme sayings over at Mixed Media Monday and since I have done nothing with a wedding theme I did this little wedding card. I also did this one because I wanted to share a technique I have been playing with. Crackle paint can be so expensive but this is a Fun inexpensive alternative to crackle paint and glaze.

This easy technique is done with cheap Elmer's school glue ...really any cheap white glue works, I even tried the stuff from the dollar store. I discovered glue crackle on the internet but found the explanations very limited. I not only wanted to crackle paint for backgrounds but I also wanted to crackle clear glaze to use on my images. As hard as I searched I found nothing on crackling clear glaze.... sooo I did a lot of experimenting with different glues and glazes and found that the cheep white school glue works best for this technique. There is no difference if you use the clear or white. Most any water based glue will work however Mod Podge doesn’t work at all

To crackle paint:
Step1.
Using acrylic paint, choose the color you would like your cracks to be and paint the surface of your project. Let it dry completely. This works on wood metal paper and even cloth. If your doing this on paper you can just use unpainted card stock in the color of choice so just skip this first step.

Step 2.
Cover the painted surface with glue. The thickness of the glue will determine the size of your cracks. A thin glue layer will result in a fine crack, the thicker the glue the larger and wider the crack. For a very fine crack it is best to thin the glue a bit. I found using my hands worked better than a brush for spreading on the glue. You have to work fast... I got a more even coverage and I was able to control the thickness of the glue much easier. It also eliminated brush marks.

Step 3.
Do not let the glue dry completely. It must still be tacky if you want it to crack. For thin glue let it dry about 3 minutes and for the thicker glue about 5 to 8 minutes. Once tacky cover the surface with Acrylic paint. Again I found using my hands worked best. The cracking starts pretty quickly and it is really fun to watch.

For a clear crackle over an image
Step1.
It is done much the same, cover the printed surface with glue. I used a lazer print. I think the ink would run with an ink jet image. Again, the thickness of the glue will determine the size of your cracks. A thin glue layer will result in a fine crack, the thicker the glue the larger and wider the crack.

Step 2
Once the glue is tacky, paint on a clear water base varnish. I used the Delta Ceramcoat satin interior varnish. I also tried several others and they all worked well.

I enhanced the cracks for my example because they did not show up great in a photo. However on a small image with a face your cracks may not look so great enhanced. I had to do the image above several times before I had an image where the bride did not look like she was crying ...lol. In real life the cracks are really visible without any enhancement.

Something Borrowed

The theme this week over at Mixed Media Monday is something borrowed so I am posting a borrowed piece of Art. This little doll is called "Here's my heart" and it was created by one of my students. She has it listed in her Etsy shop. Since she has so many grandchildren she worried that they might damage her so she asked if she could leave it in my studio until it sells... As much as I hope she sells to encourage my student and friend..I have to say I will be sick when she does as I have come to love her so much... I just might buy her myself if she doesn't sell soon :)

 

Here is my heart

Mixed Media Monday New Old Bottle Labels Perfume & Pharmacy

I know these look old but they really are some new labels I made. I did use the information from an actual French pharmacy label to create the pharmacy label and wording from a vintage French perfume label for the perfume label. I added some soldered elements to the perfume bottle but if you don't solder try tying some ribbon or vintage lace on your bottle. I thought it would be a fun project for Mixed Media Monday this week.

The bottle labels are available at my little etsy store!